Anthony Weiner announces N.Y.C. mayoral run

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner, whose career in public life came to an abrupt end when he sent lewd pictures to a college student on Twitter, jumped back into politics on Wednesday by announcing a bid for mayor of New York City.

“Look, I’ve made some big mistakes and I know I’ve let a lot of people down,” the Democrat said in a two-minute video announcing his bid. “But I’ve also learned some tough lessons. I’m running for mayor because I’ve been fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it for my entire life. And I hope I get a second chance to work for you.”

The announcement comes only six weeks after Weiner, 48, emerged from political hibernation with a profile in The New York Times Magazine portraying him as contrite and lacking the “burning, overriding desire” to run for mayor. Weiner starts the race for mayor as an underdog but appears to be counting on a middle class-focused message and a formidable war chest to put him over the top.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday morning found City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the longtime front-runner, drawing 25 percent of the vote to Weiner’s 15 percent in the multi-candidate Democratic primary. Twenty-seven percent of Democratic primary voters were undecided. Nearly half the city’s voters said Weiner shouldn’t run for mayor, including 52 percent of women and 44 percent of Democrats.

An April poll found only 46 percent of the city’s Democrats would even consider voting for him — bad news when a Democrat needs 40 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff election.

The city’s public advocate, Bill de Blasio, and comptroller, John Liu, are also running to succeed three-term Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as is the party’s 2009 nominee, Bill Thompson. Former MTA chief and Rudy Giuliani aide Joe Lhota is the GOP front-runner.

Weiner has had some trouble recruiting staff for his run, with many longtime consultants taking a pass, but he hired a campaign manager last week. It’s also unclear whether allies built up over Weiner’s and Abedin’s long careers in politics will stand by them. Sen. Chuck Schumer, who gave Weiner his start as a congressional staffer, declined to comment when asked in April about a Weiner bid. And both Clintons said they wouldn’t endorse a candidate in the crowded Democratic primary.